Extending probation because the company is poorly run by management

I have worked at this company for 4 months, it's only been open for 4months although it's just a branch on a larger tree.
Our manager absolutely sucks, although we've all met our goals and working really hard they've extended all our probation on the terms that the management side is doing so badly although we are working so hard.

Is this fair?
Our contracts say they can extend probation for however long they want in the circumstances that they feel we could do better.
If the manager is failing why do we all have to suffer?

Comments (8)

No, it’s not fair. In circumstances like that though, isn’t it in your favour to be able to pull out quickly and not commit? I have asked a company to extend my probabtion because I wasn’t sure it was the right role for me. It wasn’t. Surely the best option, if it’s as poorly managed as you say, is to find a new role?

No, it’s not fair. In circumstances like that though, isn’t it in your fa...

Posted
25/04/2018

No, it’s not fair. In circumstances like that though, isn’t it in your favour to be able to pull out quickly and not commit? I have asked a company to extend my probabtion because I wasn’t sure it was the right role for me. It wasn’t. Surely the best option, if it’s as poorly managed as you say, is to find a new role?

Everybody has started looking for new jobs and some have left working with us.

We all love our job but feel because our management isn't doing anything he should be doing and we doing great we are being let down.

You can’t judge them for that. You’ve no idea what work colleagues are go...

Posted
25/04/2018

You can’t judge them for that. You’ve no idea what work colleagues are going through in their personal lives - management also have those.

Of course he's human too with personal issues possibly but if he's constantly off sick and because of that our probations have been extending I'm definitely going to judge.
He's failing our company and if he cannot cope he should let somebody else step up.

We have our team leading doing all the management stuff which she isn't qualified to do and nobody is stepping in just extending our probations so it doesn't really seem like we'll have jobs for much long if they shut that branch down

Of course he's human too with personal issues possibly but if he's co...

Posted
25/04/2018

Of course he's human too with personal issues possibly but if he's constantly off sick and because of that our probations have been extending I'm definitely going to judge.
He's failing our company and if he cannot cope he should let somebody else step up.

We have our team leading doing all the management stuff which she isn't qualified to do and nobody is stepping in just extending our probations so it doesn't really seem like we'll have jobs for much long if they shut that branch down

In 2016 I mangled my hand in a workplace injury. I was the manager. I was overly conscious of the fact that my right hand woman was doing my role and being paid significantly less for the pleasure. The guilt and stress of how I was letting my team down didn’t help my recovery at all and I returned to work far too soon which was detrimental to me long term. I ended up leaving my role because I couldn’t support clients, manage on site and I felt I was letting the side down.

Youre right, it’s not your fault. You’re right, in an ideal world that wouldn’t impact probabtionary periods. In the grand scheme of things, you could have a boss that’s just been diagnosed with cancer, that goes home and contemplates suicide, that has lost a close family member - you have no idea. Driving him out of his job doesn’t sound very nice to be honest. Yes, people being off sick is inconvenient, extending a probationary period is inconvenient - but it doesn’t really sound like it has that big an impact on you.

Perhaps you’ll find things improve if you support your manager positively? That’s not always feasible, obviously. In that case I would write an email (respectfully) and highlight how hard you’ve been working and that you want some commitment from the company. That would be fine too. If you still have a problem, after speaking to the manager - speak to their manager.

You say you've been working hard - this doesn't always mean that you are performing well. If you signed a contract saying that they can extend probation indefinitely, then whether it's fair or not, you've accepted it.

Please do repost though - we can't honestly comment on how things work where you are. Lots of things aren't fair at work, unfortunately, like zero hours contracts, etc. And as Kiro says, you may not be in the best position to assess your manager.

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